Generally speaking, an electronic tutorial (“tutorial”) includes information and associated software that provides a user with guidance on how to complete a task in a computer program (“program”) or outside of a computer program. Typically, a tutorial will provide step-by-step instructions for performing the task. For example, a tutorial for use with a program, such as Microsoft® Word®, might cover the task of saving an existing document to a new location. Such a tutorial might instruct the user, e.g., to go to a “File” pull-down menu of an open document, select a “Save As” menu item, and, in a resulting dialog box, specify where the document is to be saved and a new name (if desired) for the document. Another example of a task that can be covered by a tutorial is changing an ink cartridge in an ink jet printer.
Software may be used to run the tutorial. This software, called a tutorial player (or simply “player”) formats and displays information from the tutorial on-screen so that a user can view the information in context.